Transmission



R.LAPSLEY TRANSMISSION odi 1.7, 1933.

File@ Au Patented Oct. 17,1933 A y 1,931,260

- UNITED s'rATssjPATsNT osmcs v N l y e insisto.-1H A H Y .l l; i.

"raANsMl'ssro Robert Lapsley, Buchanan, Mich., assigner 4to Clark Equipment Company, Buchanan, Mich., acorporation ofltlichigan` Application August 19,1931.V No. 558,010`v i.' 4 `s claims. tcl. `'14e-sv) l.

The present invention relates 'generally to -stantially along the line 2`2 of Figure l; :ande transmissions for automobilelvehiclesand the` Figure 3 is a view, partly .in section and. part'- like, and'more particularly to transmissionstofv ly in elevation, illustrating oneforrn` of manuthe type which includes some form oi!` overrunallyzoperated control means for .the overrunning ,clutch provided for the purpose `oi' allowning clutch of the transmission shown in wligo ing certain rotating parts ofthe transmissiontoy ure 1. e i v ...Y overrun other and 4usually the driving' partsto Referring now more particularly to Figure 1, allow the vehicle to coast without disengaging the reference v`numeral indicates in its entirety the conventional clutch mounted forward of the va transmission housing in which a-driving shaft transmission.` 1 i y `11. a'driven shaft 12andacountershaft 13 are The advantages of'this type of transmission- Journaled. The present Ainvention Ais not pri-` are generally recognized since a material sav-` marily concerned-,with Specific details of the ing in gasoline consumption is had andare-` transmission perse, itfbeing sufllcientito `note duction of vibration and the like vis realized` -for the4 purposes of this disclosure thatthe where the vehicle can coast at driving 'speeds transmission shown in Figure 1 embodies'rnany Y while the motor of the vehicle is allowed to idle, oi the featuresdescribed and claimed-'in my coit'being connected so as to be instantly avail-` pending applicatiomvSerial No. 512.596Transableto apply driving power to the propelling-y mission, iiled January` ,31, 1931 (Case lil), to wheels of the car. which reference. may be had fo'r further details. Nevertheless, under many conditions, particu- For the purposes,ftherefore, of the present inlarly when descending a steep' decline, itV is devention it; maybe considered `that theA transsirable to be able to utilize the resistance of the .mission shown'in Figure 1l is a` conventional-helimotor as a brake, in which case the overrunning cal gear four. speed and reverse transmission as clutch connections must be renderedinactive"4 regards) the 'gears and shift'layout The rear' 2 without subjecting the transmission to shock. end ot'the driven` shaft 12 issupported in the loads when rendering inactive the overruning rear end of therhousing 10 by anti-frictionbearclutch. Further, many operators prefer to ings 15, one race 16 of which is, carried in the pense-withthe overrunning clutch feature so as rear wallv11 of the housing while the other race to utilize the motor as abrake at all times;v 18is' secured 'to therear gend of the' driven shaft According to the present'invention the freey 12.The countershaft orl tubular lay shaft 413 is `wheel clutch is disposed within the transmis journaled for rotation upona xedshaft-Zhaw. sion main drive gear or .whatfis often termed ing its rearfend received within a suitable formed the high speed pinion. This simplifies Y the con` opening 211m the rear wall 1'1. The forwardend struction greatly as it requires a minimum deof the'fixed shaft 20 is reduced. as at 23 formpaxture from conventional .design and permitsV ing a shoulder 24which abuts against a flanged 9 of inexpensive manufacture, simpler assembly collar 25. The forwardend of ,theifixed shaft isand maximum utility of the material involved. ).threaded;y as iat 28,-- and receives a nut 2,9y by The torque upon the free wheel clutch is lnever which the fixed shaft may be-fsecuredin place. more than engine torque. This also permits the Bearing. lmeans 31 supports the rear end .of`r the f free wheel clutch to operate upon reverse which tubular lay shaftv 13- on the fixedshatt 20, and 95 is a desirable feature. v ball bearing meansv SZ-'SuPDOrts the frontend of A further feature of improvement isithe pro` the countershaft 13. on the `front endof the xed vision of a lockout-mechanism which is inexshaft 20. The ball bearing means 32 includes an Dpensive and simple- Alsoit is conveniently outer race 34 secured .tothe .tubular layshaft operable by any one of a variety of control. and an inner race 35 v`clamped betweenhe means which simpliiles ythe actuation' thereof. flanged end 0f-the 60118125 andthe forward' Other objects and advantages of the present transverse wall 36.0! the transmission housing inventionA will be apparent to those skilled in .-10. Anti-friction balls 3'1 arepositioned between the artaftepa consideration of the following dethe inner and outer racesl andare operative to 105 tailed description, taken in commotion with the Aprevent :axial 'nmovement of `one racewith reaccompanying Idrawing in which: spect toflthe other. l Figure 1 is` a vertical longitudinalsection YThe-.driven shaft 12 is splined substantially 'taken through a transmission'fembodying the throughout its length and a number oi gears principles of thepresent invention; f e 40,` 41 and 42 are mounted thereon, the latter Figure 2 is acrosssectional view taken subtwo gears being `slidable; on the driven shaft 12, no

2 while the gear 40 is freely rotatable thereon but held from axial displacement with respect thereto by virtue of an inwardly directed flange or shoulder held in abutting relation with re- 5 spect to the ends of the splines on the larger end of the driven shaft 12 by a cylindrical bushing 46, the latter being held in place by a notched f ring 48 as clearly disclosed in the copending application referred to above. The countershaft 20 includes gears 50, 51 and 52 in mesh, respectively, with the gears 40, 41 and 42 on the driven shaft 12. The gear 41 is adapted to mesh with the gear 51 on the countershaft or the gear 54 'which is in the'form of a reverse idler driven from the smallest gear 52 on the countershaft 13. The floating gear 40 is adapted to be connected with the driven shaft 12 by means of a sliding clutch dog 58 having two sets of teeth 59 and 60, the latter teeth being adapted to engage internal teeth 61 formed on the gear 40. -When the teeth and 61 are engaged the gear 40 is connected with the driven -shaft 12 to drive the same. The teeth 59 are arranged to engage internal teeth 64 formed on the driving gear 6 5 which is freely rotatable on the driving shaft 11 as will now be described in detail. v'I'he'driving gear 65 includes teeth 66 engage- 'able with the-teeth formed on the driving gear 68 for'the countershaft 13. The driving gear 65 vis also provided with a forwardly extending hub portion which passes through the transverse wall 36 of the housing and is journaled thereon by a ball bearing structure'including an outer race 71'secured tothe transverse-wall 36, lvan inner-'race 72 clamped to the driving 'gear 65 by rneans of a nut 74 and a lock washer v75, and a series ofanti-friction balls 76'which are; arrangedto take both radialand axial loads, vjust as the bearings .15 and 32 take vboth radialand axial loads. The forward end of the hub 70 is threaded to receive ther nut 74. vA cylindrical` bushing member 78 is interposed between the driving gear 65 and theassociated driving vshaft 11 and isin abutting relation.: with a flange formed on the driving shaft 11 (see Fig. 1); -An.""overrunning clutch connection, indicated in'its entirety by the reference numeral 80, is disposed between the rear end 81 of the driving shaft 11 and the rear portion. of the` driving gear bodying a plurality of rolls `or rollers 83 acting "between a substantially cylindrical surface 84 formed on the insidel of the gear 65 and a concentric surface 85 formed on :the rear end-81 of the driving shaft 11. The latter surface is'not cylindrical but is formed to present a plurality of Vsubstantially flat circumferentially disposed I cam sections 87. The locking rollers 83 are preferably arranged so as to lie opposite the cam` B0 sections or flats, and the 'rolls 83 are maintained Y in this spaced relationship by means of a spacingy cage 90f provided with a'peripheral flange portion which is slotted,-as at 91 (Figure 1), to

ingmernber 90- is formed with a radiallyinwardly directed disc-like flange 93 which, as best shown in Figure 1,'is received between and serves to space theadjacent ends of the driving and driven shafts 11 and 12'. 'Ihe locking rollers 83 abut at their rear ends against the flange 93,

and at their forward ends they abut against theY bushing 78 and'thus serve to hold the latter up against the flange on the `driving shaft 11,- preventing it from V65.- The overrunning clutch 80 is of the type emaccommodate thevarious rollers 83. The spac-` shifting rearwardly relativev The spacing cage 90 containing the locking rollers 83 is urged in one direction by means of a pair of alternate diametrically opposed spring pressed plungers 95 carried by the driving shaft 11 at the rear end 81 thereof, this member also serving as the driving member of the overrunning clutch 80. Since the fiat sections 87 on the inner'member 81 of the overrunning clutch will, if extended, intersect the adjacent surface 84 of the concentric driving gear 65, the tendency for the spring pressed plungers is to move all of the rolls 83 into clamping or wedging engagement with the driving gear 65 and the driving shaft l1` whereby driving power may be transmitted from the latter to the former. The heads of the spring pressed plungers 95 are inclined or beveledso as to properly bias the cage 90, and the heads engage within slots 91a from which the corresponding rolls have been omitted, see Figurel 2. It will also bek observed that the presence of thevspring pressed plungers 95 also serves -as al means tov positively prevent the cage,90

from bringing rthe locking rollsany farther than a central position on thecamor flat sections 87. Thus, rotation of the driving shaft 11 in the direction of the arrow, shown in Figure 2, will Wedge the rrolls 83 into clamping engagement with the driving gear 65, -butshould the driving gear 65 be rotated in the same direction at a speed sary, the motor of the vehicle may be used as a brake to retard the speed thereof. `The .means to this end which I have provided is best shown in-Figure 1.v The forwardmost end of the driving gear 65 is provided with av plurality of internal teeth 100 spaced around the interior of the forward hub portion 70, adjacent the flange on the driving shaft l1. Thus, the gear 65 isprevented from shifting rearwardly relativeto the driving shaft 11. The adjacent section `of the driving shaft 11 is splined and slidably receives a collar 101 thereon. This collar is provided with a plurality of external teeth 103 adapter to engage with the teeth 100formed on the driving gear 65, and the collar 101 also carries a grooved 'flange 104 for the purpose of accommodating a throw-out or thrust collar 105 which is pivotally connected to be actuated by a yoke 106. lThe yoke 106 is pivotally mounted for swinging move- .ment about a transverse axis onthe vhousing 10 and includes a pair of arms 108 actuating the -transmission to shockloads so that,- where necesthrow-out collar 105y and a depending portion 109 which has its lower end in engagement with a spring pressed -plunger 112 slidably mounted -in a boss 113 carried in the journal housing 114 in which the driving shaft l1 is journaledand which is securely bolted or otherwise secured to the forward or transverse wall 36 of the trans- .mission housingA 10. As best shown in Figure 1,

the spring pressed plunger 112 serves to bias the sliding collar 101 toward engagement with the forward end ,of the driving gear 65 which is .11, the teeth will not engage, merely ratcheting against each other, until vthe, driver, by use of the engine throttle or wheel brakes, causes these.

two parts toturn at nearlyY the same speed, which results in no relative rotation between `the'in,'at,which instant these ,two parts will then snap together Without shock to the transmission.y While the driving gear 65 andthe driving shaft 11 are clutched together the overrunning clutchV teeth 100 on the forward end of the driving gear 65. 4The means as providedeto ,this'end in` cludes an'arm 120 connected in any manner desired to the yoke 106 and operativeto swing the-same about its pivotal support. The outer end of the arm 120 is provided with a suitable recess and aperture receiving the lower end of an operating wire `122 thelower end of which iixedly carries a suitable abutment 123` re ceived within the recess. I f

The control' wire 122 may bel actuated byany type of control, such as the draw rod'construction shown in either Figure 5 or Figure 12 of my copending application, Serial No. 512,595,l

Coaster device, filed January 31, 1931, or'any other type of control which may be located upon the instrument board or at any other convenient position accessible to the driver. As illustrative of suchrcontrols, Figure 3 shows a type of control which may be utilized if desired.. The part 130 in Figure 3 represents some part of the automobile, such as the upper end of the shift lever or a support xed to Athe car. For the purposes of this structure it will be considered that the part 130 is theupper end of a gear shift lever or rod. The rod 130 is provided with a substantially axial bore 131 through which the control wire 122 extends. The bore 131 is enlarged, to provide space to permit the wire 122 to emerge from the rod 130 and also to provide space to receive the casing surrounding the control rodor wire 122 such as the casing of a Bowden cable. Slidably and rotatably mounted on the upper end of thegear shift rod is a knob or handle 135 having a bore 136 accommodating the upper end of the gear shift rod. 'Ihe knob 135 receives and is fixedly 'secured to the upper end of the control rod 122. At a point on its interior wall the bore 136 carries a pin or stud 138 which is adapted to project within a slot 140 formed in the upper end of the rod 130. The slot 140 includes a lateral extension to receive and retain the stud 138 so as to hold the knob 135 in an upper position which corresponds to the position in which the control wire 122 holds the slidable collar 101 in the position shown in Figure 1 in which the spring pressed plunger is pressed inwardly. Instead of the form of operating knob shown a notched bar may be extended through a plate the notch hooking over the plate to hold the clutch 101 out of engagement.

When it is desired to lock out the overrunning clutch all that is necessary to do in the form illustrated is to give the knob 135 a slight clockwise rotation which frees the pin 138 from the shelf 140 whereupon the spring pressed plunger 112 is effective towithdraw the control wire 122 and to move the knob 135 downwardly along the rod or support 1,30 whereupon the pin 138 carried by the knob 135 takesa position in the lower end of the slot 140. The knob 135is thus movable to two positions for the purpose of controlling the overrunning clutch, one position being that shown in full lines in Figure 3 where the collar 101- is'held'away from the for- `wardy en d of the driving gearf65,x2andthe second l)position being that in which the ffknob. -135 takes a lowei'position, as rshown'. in dotted 'lines in Figure 3 with thestud 138in`the bottom of the slot 140. Instead ofv depending uponthe spring plunger v112 'to' throw the clutch 101.*into engageme'xit it may-if desired be `movedpositively by` the-Bowden cable in either direction, the spring actuation forengagement being more desirable because itl-gives va quick but yielding selective action, whereas positive movement might be blockedby clash of theA engaging teeth, or

'should they engage, causesevere shock loads to the transmission. I i

While I have shown and describedin detail the preferredfstructural embodimentof my in- `-vention, it is to be understood thatmy invention is not to be limitedto the specific meansl [shown and describedv but that .widely dierent means-A may be employed in the` practice of the broader aspectsV of my'v invention.' Details may be modified and .used in different combinations to suit' a given purpose `without introducing novelty over whatI have disclosed. `I have made no attempt inthis speciflcationto show structransverse wall for supporting said gear and the adjacent end of the driving shaft, means in the housing driven from said gear. an overrunning clutch connection between said driving gear and said driving shaft and disposed wholly within said housing inside of the transverse wall thereof, and means disposed outside saidtrans verse wall for controlling said overrunning clutch connection,

2. A transmission comprising, in combination, a housing having a transverse wall, a driving shaft, a driving gear freely rotatable on said shaft and journaled in said transverse wall, means in the housing driven from said drivingv gear, an overrunning clutch connection between said driving 'shaft and said driving gear on one side of said wall, and lockout means for rendering said overrunning clutchinactive and positioned on the otherside of the transverse wall.

3. In a transmission, a housing having a' transverse wall, a -driving shaft journaled in said housing, a driving gear journaledwfor free rotation on the rear end, of said driving shaft and having Sear teeth disposed within the hous' ing, bearing means supporting said driving gear rear ends of the driving gear and the driving shaft and disposed in the plane of the gear teeth of said driving gear and radially outwardly of the forward end of said driven shaft, and means for controlling vsaid overrunning clutch connection. l Y a ,a 4.- In atransmission, a pair of driving and driven shafts vcoaxially `disposed and rotatable vwithrrespect toone another, a freely rotatable driving gear journaled on the driving shaft, said driving gear having a plurality of internal teeth, a circumferentially disposed shoulder formed on the driving shaft and adapted to abut against said internal teeth to `prevent axial movement of thedriving gear relative to the driving shaft in onedirection, a Journal bushing inserted between the driving gear and the driving shafty in a direction opposite to said first direction, an

'overrunning clutch connection arranged in rear of said bushingfand adapted to cause the driving shaft to drive said driving gear in one direction, said overrunningciutch connection corn- Apri'sing a plurality oflocking/,rolls which abut the I driving gear and including a plurality of locking rolls and a retainer for the rolls, both the rolls and retainer being disposed' radially outwardly of `said reduced end, the retainerincluding ,a radiallyinwardly directed portion positioned between adjacent ends of saidl shafts and arranged to space said shafts apart.'

6. In a transmission, a housing having a transverse wall, driving and driven shaftsrjournaied in said housing `in axial alignment, a driving gear freeiyrotatable on the driving shaft, bearing means 'mounting the driving gear for rotation on the transverse wall, a circumferential shoulder on the driving shaft and cooperating with the driving gear to restrain the driving shaft fromy moving forwardly relative to the driving'gear, a cylindrical bushing interposed between said driving gear and the driving shaft adjacent said bearing means, overrunning clutch means between the driving gearl and the rear end of said driving shaft and including a'plurality of locking lelements and a spacing cage therefor, and'means to prevent rearward movement of the driving shaft relative to the driving gear comprising a central apertured disc section carried by said cage and interposed between adjacent ends of the driving and driven shafts.

v ROBERT LAPSLEY. 

